Church of the Lawgiver

Identity

The Church of the Lawgiver is Vaasicentric. The use of any language other than Vaasi in its rites and its records is proscribed. Its doctrine is barely separable from the history of the Vaasi nation and its mission is nigh inseperable from the advancement of the cause of that nation. Consequently, there are high barriers to its spread across the Land of Mists.

The remarkable reception of the Iron Faith among the Hazlani was made possible by the absence of these barrier in Hazlan. Vaasi is the native tongue. And Hazlik was too preoccupied with the annihilation of a race to concern himself with the cultural and spiritual sovereignty of his land.

Any would-be tyrant can turn to the Church of the Lawgiver in search of legitimation. But there is a significant price to be paid to Kantora in return. Consequently, a tyrant who is already well established on his or her own merits is going to dismiss the benefits as slight and recognise the cost as significant. And the expected response would be to send the flatterers from Kantora home, with or without their teeth.

Doctrine

Domination

Might is right. Hierarchy is essential and good. Duty to one's superiors is the supreme virtue. The correction of one's inferiors, including one's weaker self, is the supreme duty.

The body is a reflection of the soul

Phyiscal degeneracy is a sign of moral and spiritual degeneracy. Self-harm (including tatooing) is the wilful embrace of degeneracy.

Sorcerery and wizardry are the vectors of chaos

The practice of arcane magic is blasphemous and must be corrected in the strongest terms.

Domains

Bindings, Death, Evil, Law, Scrutiny

Rites, Ceremonies, Holy Days

Spells are prayed for at highnoon, in the full-light of day, that the Lawgiver might see and weigh all.

Services are held nightly, after the working day has ended, with twice weekly attendance being expected at a minimum.

During the Day of Penance, on the first day of the New Year, the faithful are expected to undertake an accounting of their failings of the past year and prepare themselves to make a better showing in the year to come.

During the Celebration of the Reemergence, which recalls the end of the Great Upheaval and is held in August upon the first full moon, the Lawgiver is thanked for his return and his success in restoring to the world its proper order.

Organisational Structure

Hierarchy of the Iron Faith

The Himmelsk Naeve ("Divine Fist") commands the Iron Faith across the known world.
The Pave for Nova Vaaa commands the Iron Faith across Nova Vaasa and the Pave for Hazlan commands the Iron Faith across Hazlan.
Four Aerkebiskop command the Iron Faith in four Nova Vaasan regions and four Aerkebiskop command the Iron Faith in four Hazlani regions.
One Biskop commands the Iron Faith in each dommer.
One Kontor commands the Iron Faith in each fane, leading the actual rites of worship.

Orders of the Iron Faith

Kunduktørs (“Guardians”) are a monastic order who tend to the dead, take vows of silence, and study the nature of death in the search for understanding of universal and eternal law. Hazlani Kunduktørs spawned the heresy that the Great Upheaval marked the destruction of the Lawgiver, draining the faith and its rites of life.

Gudkædes ("God-chains") are the marshal order sworn to the defence of the Church and the destruction of its enemies. They are not quite the force that they once were, for want of occasion to exercise their strength.

Jernspørgsmålers ("Iron Inquisitors") are the fire fighters of the church, extinguishing the lives of heretics and traitors. They creep into every corner of the institution, often donning the cloth of their prey.

Didakti ("Teachers") are the fire inspectors of the church, ever seeking and testing flaws and weaknesses of character or of reasoning that could be the fuel or the spark of heresy or treason. They work closely with the Jernspørgsmålers, but are far more given to pondering the descent into, and nature of, iniquity.

Iron Obedience

Within the Church proper low ranks do as they are commaned by higher ranks. Rebellion against the order of one's better is treason.

Orders have their own internal hierarchy. Beyond this, they and their members answer to only to the Pave of their land and the Himmelsk Naeve ("Divine Fist").

Hierarches

• The Himmelsk Naeve ("Divine Fist") commands the Iron Faith across the known world from the Black Citadel-Fane in Kantora. (Himmelsk Naeve Pieter Jergaar, male, Clr16)
• The Pave of Nova Vaasa commands the Iron Faith across Nova Vaasa from the Crimson Citadel-Fane in Bergovitsa. (Pave Lod Ragnaar, male, Clr13)
  • The Aerkebiskop of Arbora: Aerkebiskop Bearnt Chekiv, male, Clr7
    
  • Aerkebiskop of Kantora: Aerkebiskop Mathias Bolshnik, male, ?
    
  • Aerkebiskop of ?
  • Aerkebiskop of ?
• The Pave of Hazlan commands the Iron Faith across Hazlan from the Iron Citadel-Fane outside of Toyalis. (Pave Stavroz Vatsisk, male, Clr12. Previously Pave Haakon Aramsen, male, Clr15, LE)
  • Aerkebiskop of Sly-Var: Aerkebiskop Melkior Vadnais, male, Clr8
    
  • Aerkebiskop of Toyalis: Aerkebiskop Verzin Lols, male, Clr10
    
  • Aerkebiskop of ?
  • Aerkebiskop of ?

Up and coming

Jernspørgsmålers ("Iron Inquisitors") Johan Bolshnik, , male, Clr3/Rog1, Kantora

Aerkebiskopcies

Each Aerkebiskop commands the Iron Faith across a region. The Aerkebiskop of Arbora, a Chekiv, probably commands the Iron Faith across the Pommel Duchy of the Chekiv family. Likewise, the Aerkebiskop of Kantora, a Bolishnik, probably governs the Iron Faith across the Heartland Duchy of the Bolshnik family. More speculatively, the other two Nova Vaasan aerkebiskop are probably of Liara and Bergovitsa. The divison of Nova Vaasan territory between them is even more speculative. The Aerkebiskop of Liara would assuredly command, at a minimum, the Iron Faith across the Borchava Duchy of the Hiregaard family and likely be a Hiregaard. The aerkebiskop of Bergovitsa would probably command the Iron Faith across the Altid Duchy of the Vistin family and Ivlis Duchy of the the Rivtoff, giving the two families all the more reason to fight for control of Begovitsa.

Additional responsibility is possibly assigned to aerkebiskops. The Aerkebiskop of Liara might also be in charge of the Iron Faith in Tepest. The Aerkebiskop of Begovitsa might also be in charge of the Iron Faith in Barovia or the West. The Aerkebiskop of Aroba or Kantora might also be in charge of the Iron Faith on the islands of the Nocturnal Sea. Alternatively, these responsibilities may fall to biskops or be retained by the office of the ("Divine Fist").

The additional two aerkebiskops in Hazlan and the division of Hazlani territory among them is not clear in the least. There will not be an Aerkebiskop of Ramulai. No places in existence has a mission more opposed to the message of the message of The Lawgiver than a town built to host a school of arcane magic. Aerkebiskops assigned alone ethnic lines would result in an unacceptible overlapping of responsibilities with the Aerkebiskops of Sly-Var and Toyalis. Perhaps an Aerkebiskop of Western Hazlan responsible for all that lies west of the immediate vicinity of the Toyalis and an Aerkebiskop of Eastern Hazlan responsible for all that lies east of the immediate vicinity of the Toyalis and outside the vicinity of Sly-Var.

Haakon Aramsen is tentatively being deemed to be the former Pave of Hazlan. He is described as being the leader of the Hazlani Church of the Lawgiver (Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I, p53). But Pave Stavroz Vatsisk is described as being the Pave of Hazlan not once but twice: first in Authority Figures insert for Toyalis (Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I, p60); and second several years later in the Hierarchy and Terminology section for the Church of the Lawgiver (Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V, p127). This was an editoral error: http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6847. Its resolution is being discussed in the thread. His death, from natural causes given his advance age, would tie things up neatly. His disappearance, without a trace, would make for a good hook.

Seats of Authority

The Black Citadel-Fane in Kantora is the seat of the Himmelsk Naeve from where he rule his charges across the known word.

The Crimson Citadel-Fane in Bergovitsa is the seat of the Pave of Nova Vaasa, who rules his charges, under the direction of the Himmelsk Naeve, throughout Nova Vaasa.

The Iron Citadel-Fane outside of Toyalis is the seat of the Pave of Hazlan, who rules his charges, under the distant direction of the Himmelsk Naeve, throughout Hazlan.

Church & State

The Church of the Lawgiver has a far tighter grip on affairs that matter to it in Nova Vaasa than Prince Othmar Bolshnik imagines. And it is willing to bolster his authority precisely to the extent that the result is a strengthening of its own authority. The Iron does not in principle oppose The leaders of the Church would be threatened in their personal authority by the reincarnation of Sainted Prince Gorkyn. What they see in Othmar is rather a whelp that can be made into a reliable watchdog a with sufficient time and sufficient bones.

The position of the Church in Hazlan is far more complex and far less acceptable. The reception of the Lawgiver's message among the Hazlani could hardly have gone better. Slaver and slave, rich and poor, Mulan and Rashemani all found much in the doctrine to take to heart. And perhaps the satraps appointed by Hazlik to govern in his sted benefitted from it most of all. But this bloodless success has left the Iron Faith in the extraordinarily uncomfortable position of blessing the authority of an individual that it finds contemptible on nearly every level. Worse, just as Hazlik madly tore up the law forbidding the practice (by others) of arcane magic, he could wake up tomorrow and ban religion. But aside from mere whim, what would ever possess him to do so? Himmelsk Naeve Pieter Jergaar has ordered that a hardline by taken be the Pave of Hazlan in respect to the blasphemy that is the practice of arcane magic. Pave Stavroz Vatsisk has not yet seen fit to obey this order, having some appreciation of the consequences. Short of simply proscribing the Iron Faith, Hazlik could declare the independence of the Hazlani church, he could see to the deaths or disappearances of church leaders, he could impose a pave of his own choosing, or he could attempts ensorcel the pave or other church leaders. Whether the Himmelsk Naeve ("Divine Fist") fails to appreciate the consequences or appreciates them all too well is the question. Sainted Prince Gorkyn could be trusted to make the most of such provocations. What about Othmar Bolshnik? Might the prospect of becoming the conqueror-king be the catalyst for transforming him into a respectable leader? The Iron Faith then might be not be as content as it appears with counting the days until death claims the aged and deranged wizard, knowing well that such powerful individuals rarely go easily or quickly.

Heresies

• The Great Upheaval marked the destruction of The Lawgiver, draining the Iron Faith and its rites of life. This heresy was spawned among Hazlani Kunduktørs ("Guardians"). The breadth of its acceptance is unknown, but undoubtably continues to be under investigation by Jernspørgsmålers ("Iron Inquisitors") and Didakti ("Teachers").

• The Black Duke was an avatar of The Lawgiver. Cult members spouting this heresy are arrested, tortured, and executed from time to time.

Heretics

Lukas Duremke, male, Clr6, Arbora

		Ravenloft Third Edition Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V
		Ravenloft Third Edition - p52 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - p53
		Ravenloft Third Edition - p54 Domains of Dread - p70 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - p53,58, 59,60 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V -p38,39,40,128-130
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p46 Ravenloft Third Edition - p17,2,122,134 Domains of Dread - pp67,70 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - p52-54 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V- p25,32,38,125-130
		The Iron Tyrant The Black Lord The Iron Faith Bane